PlayStation acquires technology giant Repeat.gg, widens esports scope

Just days after completing their acquisition of Destiny developer Bungie, PlayStation is buying the technology platform Repeat.gg.

The move appears to back up PlayStation's aspirations in the world of competitive games and esports, since Repeat.gg is largely known as a platform that supports online (and sometimes paid) game tournaments for titles like Fortnite, PUBG, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and DOTA 2.

As a host of leaderboard tournaments that provide easier access to the world of esports, Repeat has hosted over 100,000 tournaments since its founding in 2015, with nearly 2.3 million active participants. The platform allows competitors to participate without being actively online as events take place.

Steven Roberts, VP of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s global competitive gaming scene, said that acquiring Repeat would “explore more ways for players to engage in competitive offerings...our vision for esports has always been about breaking down barriers for gamers to compete at all levels.” Roberts promised that this acquisition would be “just the start” of the console publisher’s foray into esports.

Repeat will continue to have feature games on non-PlayStation systems, including mobile and PC. Its CEO, Aaron Fletcher, said that working with PlayStation would “enhance the variety of tournament experiences gamers can enjoy, regardless of their skill level."

Sony's interest in esports is rising

PlayStation’s investment into esports began in earnest in March 2021, when it acquired EVO The yearly fighting game tournament organization hosted global competitions for fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Dragon Ball. More broadly, Sony has also been making efforts to get into the market of live service games.

In May, Sony announced plans to have at least 12 of their games be live service titles by 2025. One of those live service games will be a standalone version of "Factions," the multiplayer mode for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II.

Revealed at Summer Games Fest in June, Factions is said to be as big as Naughty Dog's typical single player outings, and will contain its story and characters set in the Last of Us universe.